CVE-2019-1002101 [Medium] | Path Traversal in Kubernetes

The kubectl cp command allows copying files between containers and the user machine. To copy files from a container, Kubernetes creates a tar inside the container, copies it over the network, and kubectl unpacks it on the user’s machine. If the tar binary in the container is malicious, it could run any code and output unexpected, malicious results. An attacker could use this to write files to any path on the user’s machine when kubectl cp is called, limited only by the system permissions of the local user. The untar function can both create and follow symbolic links. The issue is resolved in kubectl v1.11.9, v1.12.7, v1.13.5, and v1.14.0.

#	Date	Old EPSS score	New EPSS score	Delta (New - Old)
1	2026-05-27	50.52%	49.94%	-0.58%
2	2026-05-22	49.27%	50.52%	+1.25%
3	2026-03-18	—	49.27%	—

Date

Old EPSS score

New EPSS score

Delta (New - Old)

2026-05-27

50.52%

49.94%

-0.58%

2026-05-22

49.27%

50.52%

+1.25%

2026-03-18

—

49.27%

—

Base score	Version	Severity	Vector	Exploitability	Impact	Score source
6.4	3.0	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:N) Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine. Attack complexity (AC:H) Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work. Privileges required (PR:H) They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:H) Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:H) Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.	0.5	5.9	[email protected]
5.5	3.0	MEDIUM	`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N` Click to expand Attack vector (AV:L) They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by. Attack complexity (AC:L) Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup. Privileges required (PR:N) No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough. User interaction (UI:R) A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land. Scope (S:U) Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems. Confidentiality (C:N) Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way. Integrity (I:H) They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt. Availability (A:N) Service keeps running; no real outage angle.	1.8	3.6	[email protected]
5.8	2.0	MEDIUM	`AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P` Click to expand Access vector (AV:N) Can be exploited remotely over network reachability. Access complexity (AC:M) Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones. Authentication (AU:N) No authentication is required. Confidentiality impact (C:N) No confidentiality impact. Integrity impact (I:P) Partial integrity impact. Availability impact (A:P) Partial availability impact.	8.6	4.9	[email protected]

Base score

Version

Severity

Vector

Exploitability

Impact

Score source

6.4

3.0

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:N): Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H): Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:H): They need powerful rights—admin, root, or similar—before this pays off.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H): Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H): Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.

0.5

5.9

[email protected]

5.5

3.0

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N Click to expand

Attack vector (AV:L): They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L): Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N): No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R): A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U): Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N): Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:H): They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N): Service keeps running; no real outage angle.

1.8

3.6

[email protected]

5.8

2.0

MEDIUM

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:N/I:P/A:P Click to expand

Access vector (AV:N): Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M): Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N): No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:N): No confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P): Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P): Partial availability impact.

8.6

4.9

[email protected]

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-1002101

vendor	priority	summary	link
`debian`	unimportant	CVE-2019-1002101 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (kubernetes), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5.	https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-1002101
`redhat`	medium	—	https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-1002101
`suse`	medium	—	https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-1002101/
`ubuntu`	medium	CVE-2019-1002101 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (kubernetes), 18 status rows across 18 suites (bionic, cosmic, disco, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, kinetic, lunar, mantic, noble, oracular, plucky, trusty, upstream, xenial): ignored 10, DNE 4, not-affected 4.	https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-1002101

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-1002101

Vendor	Product	Version	Raw CPE
kubernetes	kubernetes	>= 1.11.0, < 1.11.9	cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes::::::::
kubernetes	kubernetes	>= 1.12.0, < 1.12.7	cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes::::::::
kubernetes	kubernetes	>= 1.13.0, < 1.13.5	cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes::::::::
kubernetes	kubernetes	1.14.0	cpe:2.3:a:kubernetes:kubernetes:1.14.0:::::::*
redhat	openshift_container_platform	3.9	cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:3.9:::::::*
redhat	openshift_container_platform	3.10	cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:3.10:::::::*
redhat	openshift_container_platform	3.11	cpe:2.3:a:redhat:openshift_container_platform:3.11:::::::*

References for CVE-2019-1002101

URL	Tags
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/06/21/1
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/08/05/5
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/107652	Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2019:0619
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2019:0620
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2019:0636
https://github.com/kubernetes/kubernetes/pull/75037	Patch Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/BPV2RE5RMOGUVP5WJMXKQJZUBBLAFZPZ/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/QZB7E3DOZ5WDG46XAIU6K32CXHXPXB2F/
https://www.twistlock.com/labs-blog/disclosing-directory-traversal-vulnerability-kubernetes-copy-cve-2019-1002101/
https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/cve-2019-1002101	Third Party Advisory

URL

CVE-2019-1002101 | kubectl cp path traversal

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-1002101

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-1002101

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-1002101

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2019-1002101

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-1002101

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-1002101

References for CVE-2019-1002101